Heretofore, containers have been supported on railway flat cars, flat bed trucks or other lading transporting vehicles on pedestals adjustable along the deck of the vehicle in accordance with the length of the container to be supported. The pedestals usually support the container at its corners, although where conditions require additional support, the pedestals may support the containers intermediate the ends of the containers as well as the corners thereof.
The containers may be of various forms and lengths and the flat cars have been adapted to carry one or more containers, which may vary in length, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,391,654, which issued to Grob on July 9, 1968.
The Grob patent has slots extending along the deck of the flat car with notches spaced on opposite sides of the slots, to retain the pedestal in position and also has enlarged openings at the ends of the slots receiving a trunnion engaging beneath the surface of the deck and enabling the pedestal to be mounted on and slid along the deck in the correct position to register with corner fittings on the container. The notches spaced on opposite sides of the slots may receive shear lugs depending from the pedestal base and other notches may receive retainer lips extending to engage beneath the deck of the vehicle. Such construction is generally shown in United States Patents to Sweger, No. 3,604,364, dated Sept. 14, 1971 and 3,774,551, dated Nov. 25, 1973, and incorporated herein as a part of the present specification.